


The Story of the Christmas Sweaters

by GinAndTonique



Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: Australia, Chlodine Week, Christmas, Christmas Sweaters, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-06 18:56:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20296357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GinAndTonique/pseuds/GinAndTonique
Summary: The adventure in India is over, but Chloe and Nadine agree to continue working together. The details are a bit sketchy at first, but surely they'll figure it all out during Christmas in Australila.





	The Story of the Christmas Sweaters

**Author's Note:**

> This is for Chlodine week, which starts today. It's a story to explain the backstory to the [Naughty Dog Christmas tweet](https://twitter.com/Naughty_Dog/status/945187398211768320). Where'd they get those sweaters? How did they end up under a mistletoe together? And what happened after? Read on to find out!

THE STORY OF THE CHRISTMAS SWEATERS

It was a warm night in southern India, the half-moon low in the sky, insects buzzing all around. After a long day of improbable feats which included escaping death by drowning in an ancient city, shooting down a helicopter and boarding a bomb-laden train, Chloe Frazer and Nadine Ross, accompanied by Chloe’s friend Sam Drake, had first sought out water, then medical supplies, then food. Preferably the greasiest, most filling food possible to fill their grumbling bellies. As it happened, Chloe had promised pizza to a little girl in the market, so that is what they had, Chloe, Nadine, Sam and Meenu. It was only once Meenu had gone home, and Sam had wandered off to a bar that Chloe and Nadine found themselves alone with each other again. It was time to go back to their respective lodgings and Chloe felt a slight melancholy at the thought.

“So,” she said to Nadine, who was standing in front of her in her mud-caked shirt, with the dust of their adventure still stuck to her face. “My first stop’s going to be a shower and then about two full days of sleep, but what’s the plan after that? Do you want to meet up later this week?”

“Would love to,” Nadine answered, sighing, “but I’m flying out the day after tomorrow.”

Chloe tilted her head. “Well, I suppose that leaves tomorrow, then. I can probably get my arse out of bed in time by evening.”

“Ja, tomorrow sounds good. Do you want to meet up for dinner, then?”

“Sure,” Chloe said, pleased. “Let me take you out, as a bonus for services rendered.”

Nadine laughed. “Alright.”

“Fantastic. Just text me your hotel details and I’ll pick you up at 6 pm.” Then she added with a wink: “And dress nice, alright?”

Chloe went to the small room she was renting for another week and a half. The floorboards creaked terribly and the noise coming up from the street never seemed to quiet down, but it had a shower and a bed, and she didn’t need much else. She peeled her adventure-soaked clothes off gratefully and washed the grime off her battered body before getting into bed and sleeping for fourteen hours straight.

She woke up in the early afternoon. It was strange to be without her tough sidekick after a week in the jungle with her. She’d played off her well and she liked having someone to banter with. She found herself looking forward to seeing her at dinner. It would be an opportunity to talk about what their newly minted partnership would look like. Not long enough to hammer out any details, but they could at least discuss a general direction and next steps. Chloe hadn’t had a partner for a while. She usually enjoyed the freedom of doing whatever the heck she liked, particularly right after a big job like this one. But for once, she realized, she was not feeling any resentment at the thought of having to take another person into account. She felt only anticipation at the idea of making future plans with Nadine and the warm feeling that she wouldn’t have to face the next job alone.

Chloe spent another hour in bed, reading the news on her phone, sending some photos to her mum, looking up restaurants online until finally her growling stomach made her overcome her laziness. She found a ration bar in her bag and ate that, washed it down with half a bottle of lukewarm water. She was looking forward to a proper meal.

Suddenly her phone rang. It was Nadine, not suppressing her number for once.

“Hello, love,” Chloe chirped. “What can I do for you?”

“Umm, hi.” Nadine’s voice sounded low and unsteady. “Bad news.”

Chloe’s heart sank. “What’s wrong? Are you alright?”

“Yes. Well, no. Won’t be able to make it tonight, I’m afraid. I feel... very sick. I’m sorry.”

“Sick how?” Chloe asked, alarmed. “Do you need to go to hospital? It’s not sepsis, is it?” Nadine had a few bad cuts on her from their expedition, but nothing had seemed bad enough to consult a doctor about.

“No, no. It’s the food. Let’s just say I regret not sticking to MREs.”

“Ah.” said Chloe, and suppressed a relieved chuckle. “Oh no. Did you eat something you bought off the street?”

“It was only fruit.” Nadine replied, sounding rather sorry for herself.

“Probably washed in unfiltered water. Sorry, china. Should have warned you.”

“Mm. Anyway, I was hoping it would have passed by this evening, but…”

“Say no more. Food poisoning is a bitch. Do you need me to get you anything?”

“No point,” Nadine said. “Can’t keep anything down.”

“Okey dokey. Let me know if you change your mind.”

Chloe looked over to the bed where she had laid out a clean shirt to wear for the evening and felt a pang of sadness.

“Hey, Chloe?” Nadine’s voice was soft. “I’m sorry about dinner. I was really looking forward to it.”

“Oh, you know... That’s fine. Some other time.”

After they hung up, Chloe decided to get on with life. She had an ancient artefact to deliver, she had treasures to find buyers for, she had promised Sam drinks later in the week. It all needed to be taken care of and Chloe didn’t intend to waste time. She could meet up with Nadine soon enough. They were partners now. They’d just call or email in a couple of days, once Nadine was home, and figure things out then. It would be a good thing to have some time to herself to get stuff done.

And yet, as she sat with her laptop on her knees browsing the online antiquities auctions, her mind kept wandering. _I should just let her rest, _she thought. _I should make sure she’s okay, s_he thought. _She probably just wants to be alone. But I can’t not say a proper goodbye. Plus…what if she changes her mind about being partners once she gets home and goes back to her former life? _This last thought she suppressed firmly, but the image of a miserable Nadine lying in bed with food poisoning would not leave her alone.

It was shortly past 6 pm when Chloe sent out a text. “R u awake?”

“Hello. Yes.” came the reply.

“Open the door?”

A few seconds later, a pale Nadine, wrapped in a blanket, opened the door to the hotel room.

“Frazer” she said, stepping aside, managing a weak smile. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to see the mighty Nadine Ross. You look dreadful, my dear.”

“Ja, thanks.” Nadine closed the door and moved back to her big hotel bed, rolling herself up in a foetal position. “Apologies, but standing is not so good.”

Chloe glanced around the room and noted the comfortable surroundings, reasonably sized bathroom and small balcony overlooking the city. Much nicer than her humble digs. Too bad Nadine was in no state to appreciate it.

She turned back to Nadine and lifted the cloth bag she was holding. “I brought you grape juice and plain crackers.” She took them out of the bag and put them on the bedside table.

“Thanks.” Nadine raised her head a fraction and looked at them. “Maybe in a bit.”

Chloe stretched a hand out and placed it on Nadine’s forehead. “You’re feeling a bit warm. Are you sure this is food poisoning and not something more sinister?”

“Pretty much. I don’t have a fever, I checked.” She pulled her blanket around herself more tightly, then thought better of it. “Ugh, I’ll be right back,” she said, and stumbled to the bathroom.

Chloe shook her head in sympathy, then sat down on the bed, picked up the remote and switched on the TV. She turned the volume up a bit to give Nadine some privacy and then amused herself flipping through the channels, before eventually settling on a nature documentary.

After a while, Nadine emerged again, looking rather pitiful. “Sorry. Afraid I’m not very good company today.” She crawled back into bed.

“Don’t worry about it,” Chloe said, looking at her sick partner. “Anyway, I should see myself out. You probably want to be left alone.”

“You can stay if you like,” Nadine said from under her blanket. “Just not sure you’ll be getting much out of it.”

And so Chloe stayed, sitting on the bed with her legs outstretched, next to a curled-up Nadine, watching nature documentaries and keeping an eye on her partner as she dozed. A small part of her wondered at her concern for Nadine – Chloe had patched up partners before but wasn’t usually one to fuss over their wellbeing. She clearly had a soft spot for her. It made her chest swell a little.

Nadine woke up nearly two hours later. She felt strong enough to sit up and have a glass of grape juice, but didn’t talk much. They watched the nature channel for a while.

“You feeling any better?” Chloe eventually asked.

“Ja. Almost human.” Nadine paused, nibbling half-heartedly on a cracker, then added: “Thanks for checking up on me.”

“Of course. So, you’re really leaving tomorrow?”

“Have to. I agreed to do a gig in Mexico before I got your offer. S’why I gave you that deadline. It’s for six weeks.”

“Six weeks?” Chloe’s heart sank a little, but she shrugged it off in her mind. It wasn’t surprising that Nadine would have other commitments. And six weeks wasn’t long. “Well, that’s not too bad. Maybe we can get together afterwards and talk about our next adventure?”

“Ja, of course. That’s what I intended.”

A smiled passed between them before Chloe got up.

“Right. I’ll leave you to it, then. Don’t be a stranger.”

Nadine got up too and saw her to the door. “Right. See you, Frazer,” she said.

They stood there for a moment before Chloe stretched her arms out. “Come on. Bring it in, partner.”

They hugged and Chloe could feel the heat radiating off Nadine’s body. Her strong arms held Chloe loosely around her shoulders. Her curly hair tickled her ear.

“Bye,” Chloe said at last, and showed herself out.

It was their last moment together for a long time. Nadine left the next day for Mexico, while Chloe stayed in India a while longer to deal with the Tusk of Ganesh. They texted intermittently while Nadine was travelling and settling in, but once her job started, her texts became rarer and then stopped altogether. From what Chloe had worked out, she was essentially working as a bodyguard. A dangerous occupation, but it didn’t occur to Chloe to worry about Nadine’s safety. The woman knew how to look after herself.

After a couple of weeks, Chloe went back to the small flat she had on the outskirts of London and continued with the task of finding buyers for the rarer pieces she had picked up in India. She kept her eyes and ears open for any leads to a new job, but otherwise took it easy, letting her bruises heal and getting some well-needed peace and quiet after all the excitement. The enterprise of finding the Tusk of Ganesh had been a demanding one, requiring months of patient planning and a decisive strike at just the right time. Barring a few kinks, it had all worked out. But following in her father’s footsteps had taken an emotional toll on Chloe as well. Although she would have been loath to admit it to anyone else, she needed a break.

It was early September when her phone rang one afternoon. It was an unknown number.

“Hey, Frazer.” Nadine’s voice sounded subdued.

“If it isn’t the elusive Miss Ross,” Chloe said. There was a lot of traffic noise in the background. “Where are you calling from?”

“Phone booth,” Nadine answered. “Bought a phone card and everything.”

“Wow, that’s very nineties of you.”

Nadine laughed. “Ja. What have you been up to?”

“Oh, you know. This and that.” Chloe started pacing around her flat. It was nice to hear Nadine’s voice, but she sounded distant. “The tusk money should come in soon. You’ll finally get your share.”

“That’s good news.”

“How’s your job?”

“Good. It’s— I’m sorry for dropping off the face of the earth for a while. Safety precaution. Phones are trackable so we had to get rid of ours.”

“Right, yeah, don’t mention it. I know how these things go.”

“Just don’t want you thinking I don’t think of—I mean, I’m not out of touch because I don’t care.”

“That’s good to know.” The conversation felt awkward and Chloe wasn’t sure why. “So how much longer do you have there?” she eventually asked.

“Um, ja, this is what I wanted to talk to you about, too.” There was an ominous silence.

“Yes?”

“Um. They asked me to stay on a while longer. Twelve weeks longer.”

“Huh,” Chloe said. “They must really like you.”

“Well, they like what I do. And the money is too good to refuse.”

“Yes, well, I can’t argue with that.” It made sense for Nadine to stay on, especially since there was no other work lined up for them, but Chloe still found herself feeling a little miffed. “Good for you, raking in the big bucks.”, she said, keeping her tone light.

“I don’t—I mean—” Whatever was on her mind, she wasn’t saying it. “We’re still teaming up after this, right?” she eventually said.

“Well, unless I find a better partner, sure. I’m keeping my options open.”

“Ja?”

“I’m kidding, Nadine.”

“Ah. Had me worried there for a second.”

They went silent for a moment. Chloe noticed she had been walking in circles through her small flat and stopped in front of the window overlooking her grey neighbourhood.

“Well, I have to go, Frazer,” Nadine eventually said. “I might not be able to get away, but... Don’t forget me, okay?”

“Couldn’t if I tried,” Chloe said.

Nadine gave a soft chuckle. “Bye, Chloe.”

Chloe hung up and her face fell, her mouth turning into a small pout. The phone call left her feeling empty. _What’s the matter with me? _she wondered. She chalked it up to the frustration of being in limbo. She’d been counting on making new plans soon, on investigating some fresh leads and she was missing an integral part to get going.

“Frazer?” It was late November when Nadine called again.

“Who is this?” Chloe teased.

“It’s Nadine.”

“Ross?”

“Ja.” There was a pause. “Wait, are you messing with me?”

Chloe laughed. “Would I ever? Hey, how’s life? Did your employers offer to prolong your contract again?”

“They did. Asked me to finish off the year.”

“Oh. Geez, love, I feel like a shag on a rock and you’re not helping!”

“Err, you... _what_?”

Chloe laughed. “It means I’m feeling lonely. You’re the animal lover, you should know what a shag is.”

“Oh, right. Like a cormorant. Got it. I think it was the rock bit that tripped me up.”

“So what you’re saying is I won’t see you until next year?”

“Huh? Oh, no. I told them thanks for the offer, but no.”

Chloe’s face split into a delighted grin. “Did you now?”

“Ja. I didn’t want to keep you waiting any longer.”

“Well, fancy that.”

“So what’s next? I can get away in a couple of weeks, I reckon. Should I come to London?”

After so long in limbo, Chloe felt almost taken aback by Nadine’s business-like attitude. Chloe hadn’t thought that far ahead. She looked at the wall calendar above her desk. The whole of December had a bright orange line running through it. “Well... Couple of weeks is December. I’ll be in Australia for the whole month.”

“Ah. Right.”

“I mean, you’re welcome to come to my mum’s house for Christmas if you like. But you probably want to spend it with your family, I guess.”

“Ja, well,” Nadine said. “We don’t really do Christmas in my family. If anything I’d be spending Hanukkah with them, but I’m not so big on that either. Don’t know if your mother wants a stranger in the house for the holidays, though.”

“See, and this is where it’s clear you’ve never met her. She’d love to have you. She’s always on my case about meeting my friends.”

“You sure?”

“Positive. But I’ll ask her if it makes you feel better.”

“Please.”

So that was settled. Chloe’s mother had no objections and Nadine was arriving on the 24th.

It was a sunny day in an unusually cold summer when Chloe drove to Sydney airport to pick up Nadine. She stood by the gate impatiently, scanning all the arriving faces for her friend. It had been too long and Chloe, usually unflappable, felt something like nerves eating away at her. She bounced lightly on the balls of her feet as she watched the never-ending stream of passengers exit. And then all of a sudden there she was: Nadine, dressed in slacks and a long-sleeved shirt, a plain rucksack slung over one shoulder. She was looking the wrong way, her head tilted and one hand in the process of gently pulling her hair out of its ponytail. She shook her head and the curls bounced out in all directions, eventually settling in a dark halo around her face. Her hair reached past her shoulders now, Chloe noted vaguely, but the thought came and went in an instant because Nadine had turned her head and spotted her. She smiled as their eyes met.

“G’day, mate,” Chloe said in an exaggerated Australian accent when Nadine walked up to her, gripping the strap of her rucksack. She just stood there smiling for a moment, until Chloe opened her arms and Nadine dropped the bag and met her in an affectionate hug.

“Frazer. It’s been too long.”

“Lord, yes.” Chloe pulled away after a moment and held her at arms’ length.

“Crikey, mate, you’re nothing but skin and bones. Did they not feed you in Mexico?”

Nadine laughed, picking her rucksack up again and showing off her biceps in the process. “Still got the muscle.”

“So you do. Well, don’t worry. My mum will feed you up, no doubt.”

They walked back to the car, smiling from ear to ear. Chloe was driving a small Peugeot – “My mum’s!” she explained – and Nadine was riding shotgun.

“Been a while since you last drove me around,” Nadine noted, then let out a long yawn.

“Heh. You must be knackered. Have a nap if you like, we’ll be about an hour.”

It wasn’t long until Nadine indeed fell asleep on the passenger seat, her face squished up against the car window. Chloe looked over at her and a warm feeling of contentment passed over her.

Chloe’s mother was a tall-ish woman nearing 70 with strong features and hair clipped short above her ears and dyed a faint purple. She had lived alone for decades, but knew everyone in the neighbourhood and had a posse of friends over every week for book club and wine. Chloe knew she enjoyed her independent lifestyle but also missed her daughter, so she tried to set aside a few weeks every year or two to visit – usually December if she could manage it, since it was Christmas and the weather was nice. This year, her mother was predictably thrilled that she was bringing a guest.

As they drove up and got out of the car, she appeared on the doorstep, her pale eyes wide and curious. “Come in, come in! I’ve heard so much about you.”, she said, breaking into a grin.

“I didn’t tell her anything, I swear,” Chloe whispered, winking.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs Frazer,” Nadine said, her hand outstretched politely.

Chloe’s mother laughed. “So well-mannered,” she said. “Where did you find her? Please, call me Liz.” She went in for a hug and Nadine, slightly taken aback, met it awkwardly. Chloe was having fun already.

“Chloe, why don’t you show her to her room? You must be tired, dear.”

Chloe grabbed Nadine’s rucksack despite Nadine’s noises of protest and led the way to the guest room. It was small, lined with crammed bookshelves, a small table and a big armchair. The armchair had a fluffy black cat on it.

“This is your room,” Chloe said, “and that’s Marmite, the man of the house.” She indicated the cat.

“He’s cute,” Nadine said, putting her backpack on the floor. “Shouldn’t he be called Vegemite?”

Marmite got up, stretched lavishly and then jumped off the armchair to rub his flank on Nadine’s legs.

“You can call him whatever you like,” she said. “It’s not like he listens. Anyway, do you need anything? The bathroom’s right next door, my room is two doors down. Are you hungry?”

“Just tired,” Nadine said. “Wouldn’t mind something to drink, though.”

“Cup of tea?”

“That sounds amazing.”

She freshened up while Chloe brewed a pot of tea.

“Are you sure you’re not hungry?” Chloe’s mother fretted when Nadine came into the kitchen. “I bought heaps of food for the holidays. I could make you a sandwich.”

“No, thank you, ma’am.”

“Gosh, so polite. You hear that, Chloe?” Chloe rolled her eyes. “Don’t you roll your eyes at me!”

Nadine was holding two paper bags and held one out to Liz. “I brought you something from Mexico,” she said. “Just…as thanks for letting me stay here.”

“Aw, you shouldn’t have!” Chloe’s mother took it and opened it. “Now, what have we here? ‘The richest organic coffee from Chiapas, Mexico’? And some…dark chocolate! Well, that is just wonderful and there was no need. But thank you!” She looked pleased.

“Chloe said you liked coffee, so...”

“Did she now? Well, I drink a bit too much of it, to be honest, but you’ve got to have a few vices, isn’t that right?”

Chloe put a cup of tea on the kitchen table. “There you go,” she said. “What did you get me, then?”

“Chloe!” her mother protested.

Nadine smiled and held out the other bag. “Here.”

Chloe made a show of rubbing her hands together before taking the bag and pulling out the contents: a bottle of tequila.

“Yes! You’re the best,” she said and gave Nadine a playful punch on the shoulder.

They sat around the kitchen table and chatted while Nadine sipped her hot tea, trying to suppress yawn after yawn while Chloe’s mother asked question after question. Eventually, Chloe led her back to her room and Nadine retired early. Chloe went to her own room two doors down, feeling happier than she had in months.

The next day was largely spent cooking a Christmas feast. Chloe and Nadine helped dutifully, peeling potatoes, chopping onions, making salad, drinking spiced punch. Chloe’s mother had decided to forgo the baked ham since Nadine didn’t eat pork – or in fact any meat at all. She made garlic butter potatoes, roast vegetables, a cauliflower bake and homemade bread rolls. It was far too much food for the three of them but they made a good dent in it, and drank, and overall had a marvellous time.

“So, why does a lovely girl like you not have a boyfriend, Nadine?” Liz eventually asked, her cheeks glowing from one too many glasses of punch.

“Muuum!” Chloe groaned.

“What? She’s so pretty, and polite! You know, I bet it’s because men are scared of tough women. That’s Chloe’s problem, too.” She nudged Nadine conspiratorially.

“Mother, please!” Chloe protested again. Then she turned to Nadine and added: “That is _not_ my problem.”

Her mother waved her objections away. “I wouldn’t worry, though,” she said. “I’m sure you’ll find someone. You both will!”

Chloe rolled her eyes and Nadine laughed.

In the evening, they exchanged gifts. Chloe’s mother seemed particularly excited about the presents she’d got for Chloe and Nadine. She handed them each a square, lumpy package, and then sat very straight, watching Nadine turn hers over in her hands. Chloe took one look at the thing and her eyes narrowed.

“Surely not…” She said, feeling the parcel all over, rustling the wrapping paper.

Liz just looked delighted. Nadine ripped the wrapping paper open, her impatient nature coming through, and uncovered a soft grey thing.

“I knew it!”, Chloe groaned. “Sorry, Nadine.”

Nadine held up the garment and turned it round. It was a woollen jumper, grey and blue with a festive Star of David pattern and a large menorah on the front. A barely visible blush came over Nadine’s cheeks. She looked at Liz with an air of wonder.

“Did you make this?”

Liz nodded. “It might be a bit big. Had to guess your size.”

Nadine tried it on. It was loose around the middle, but fitted nicely on the shoulders.

“I might have slightly exaggerated to Mum how buff you are...” Chloe grinned.

“It’s perfect”, Nadine said, with a genuine smile. “Thank you.”

From the floor, where she was sitting cross-legged, Chloe made a noise of consideration.

“Well, looky here”, she said, holding up a red and gold jumper with the Om symbol on the front. “Finally one that doesn’t have reindeer on it.”

“I know I’ve made you three of these already, but I found this pattern and it just seemed perfect for you since you were just…over there, I mean. In India.”

Chloe heard the tremor in her voice. She had covered it with a smile, but it was there. Her mother still wasn’t quite over the news of her latest adventure in India and what it had revealed about her late father.

“I might actually wear this one more than once,” said Chloe. “Thanks, Mum.” She reached over and squeezed her mother’s arm.

“So”, said Liz after a moment. “What did you get Nadine?”

Chloe’s present for Nadine turned out to be a Blu-ray of Planet Earth and an elephant keyring. For her mother, she’d got tickets to see the musical of Muriel’s Wedding in town. All were well received.

Then came Nadine’s turn. To Liz she gave a colourful Mexican blanket, which Liz admired and immediately threw over the back of the sofa. Then she handed Chloe her gift.

“Is it one of those Mexican skulls?” Chloe guessed. “I’ve always wanted one of those.”

She carefully peeled the shining Christmas wrapping paper off to reveal a simple wooden box.

“It’s not cigars, is it?” she joked, pressing her nose against the box.

Her mother gave her a slap on the shoulder.

Chloe pulled the lid off and was temporarily rendered speechless.

“That’s—“

It was a replica of the Tusk of Ganesh.

“Hope you like it,” Nadine said awkwardly.

“I love it,” Chloe said. “God.” She leaned forward and gave Nadine a hug.

“It’s beautiful,” Chloe’s mother said, touched, and Chloe held the Tusk out to her. “All these years,” she said, trailing off. Chloe put a hand on her leg. She had shown her mother a picture, but seeing the actual object – or at least a close replica – after all these years was different. After she had lost her husband to the pursuit of it.

Chloe felt Nadine’s hand on her shoulder and looked at her. Nadine looked worried, but Chloe shook her head, indicating it was fine.

“Well,” Liz said eventually, getting up and handing the Tusk back. “Who wants more punch?”

They spent the evening watching Planet Earth, then they watched the news. Marmite settled himself on Nadine’s lap and was rewarded with chin scratches and strokes for as long as he wanted. As the evening went on, Nadine seemed busy with her phone. Eventually, it was bedtime and everyone dispersed.

Nadine came out of the bathroom, stopping by Chloe’s room.

“Bathroom’s free,” she said and turned to go.

“Hey, Nadine?” Chloe got up from the bed, where she had been leafing through an old issue of National Geographic.

“Ja?”

Nadine stood in the doorway in her pyjamas – black shorts and a tight grey t-shirt. Chloe took in briefly how the fabric hugged her hips, how it seemed to stretch around her upper arms. She flicked her eyes away, not wanting to stare.

“Everything alright? You seemed a bit distracted this evening.”

“Ja, everything’s fine.” She smelled of toothpaste and natural oils. Her curly hair, freshly oiled and drawn into a neat plait for sleeping, shone in the light of the hallway. Chloe found herself staring at that now, so she looked away again and right into Nadine’s eyes. They were deep brown wells and it didn’t help.

Nadine possibly mistook Chloe’s silence as insistence and added: “Just texting my dad. He’s got... issues.”

“Is he upset I stole you for the holidays?” Chloe guessed.

“No,” Nadine said with a hard set to her mouth. “He’s upset because of Shoreline.”

“Ah,” Chloe said and then failed to think of any consoling words. _Sorry_ could have worked. It didn’t come to mind.

“Anyway,” Nadine eventually said. “Night, F—uh, Chloe.” She turned to leave, but Chloe put a hand on her arm to stop her.

“I’m glad you’re here,” she said. “I’m glad you came. Merry Christmas.” She felt herself drawn to Nadine, to her faint minty breath and shining hair, to the muscular body she didn’t dare look at. She leaned forward slowly, for a hug maybe, maybe for—

“Chloe, dear, can you clean the cat litter before you go to bed?” her mother’s voice came down the hallway.

The moment was over.

“Merry Christmas,” Nadine smiled and walked down the hall to her room.

When Chloe got up the next morning and sleepily made her way to the kitchen in her flannel pyjamas for some coffee, she found her mother happily chatting with Nadine, who sat in sweaty workout clothes at the kitchen table, with a piece of toast in hand and a cat on her lap.

“Morning,” Chloe said, pleased to see the coffee pot was still half full. She kissed her mother on the cheek, then grabbed a cup from the kitchen cupboard.

“Look who finally made it out of bed,” her mother teased. She stood at the counter, pouring flour into a bowl. “Nadine already ran 5k this morning.”

“Four and a half,” Nadine corrected.

“Yes, well,” Chloe said. “We can’t all be Nadine, mum.” She smiled and winked at Nadine before pouring herself some coffee. “What are you making anyway?”

“Lamingtons,” her mother said, putting the flour away.

“Hey, gorgeous,” Chloe said, sitting down at the table and leaning over to briefly scratch Marmite under his chin as he was sitting on Nadine’s lap. She looked up at Nadine and smiled, and Nadine smiled back briefly before looking down at the cat bashfully. She was stroking Marmite between his tufty black ears and he was giving off a content purr. “He likes you.”

“I like him, too,” Nadine said.

Chloe’s mother related the plan for the day, which involved a tight schedule of baking, laundry, then driving half an hour to Chloe’s uncle’s house for their traditional Boxing Day get-together. Nadine offered to help with the baking, so Chloe did the laundry. By 12:30pm, Chloe, Liz, Nadine and a large box of Lamingtons piled into the old Peugeot and set off. Chloe and Nadine had put their new festive jumpers on (“Family tradition...”, Chloe had said), and Liz was wearing a garish red and green one of her own, but the sun came out and it was obvious they wouldn’t be wearing them for long.

When they arrived, Chloe’s mother went ahead with the box of baked goods.

“I hope you won’t be too bored,” Chloe said, walking a few steps behind with Nadine. “They’re all lovely people, but sometimes they go on a bit.”

Nadine smiled. “So it runs in the family, eh?”

Chloe playfully bumped her shoulder against Nadine’s and Nadine laughed. They walked through the door to the house together when a little boy of about four – presumably Chloe’s cousin’s son, but since when did he walk and talk? – pointed to something above their heads and loudly yelled: “Mistletoe!”

Momentarily startled, Chloe looked up at the green branch hanging from the doorframe. Then her gaze dropped to Nadine, who was looking back at her with eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. Abruptly, Chloe felt herself flush all the way up from her lower back to her cheeks in a way that hadn’t happened to her in years – perhaps decades. Both she and Nadine looked away quickly, and Chloe hugged herself in a gesture of embarrassment that was quite involuntary. A moment passed until the little boy pronounced “Mistletoe!” again and stared at them expectantly. That snapped Chloe out of it.

“Right,” she said to Nadine, putting a confident hand on her shoulder. “Sorry, love. It’s tradition!”

Nadine dropped the hand she’d been holding to her neck, straightened her back and gave a brief nod, before Chloe leaned in nonchalantly and planted a kiss on Nadine’s lips.

Now, Chloe liked sex. She liked it a lot, in fact, and usually didn’t have any trouble convincing men to give it to her. What she didn’t like, however, was the intimacy some men expected of her afterwards. She preferred to leave right after, to save herself the awkward small talk in the morning, to escape any expectations they might burden her with.

As she stood now, her lips pressed against Nadine’s, the subtle smell of Nadine’s hair tickling her nose, she realized she had a distinctly sexual desire for her. But she also knew it was not only that – she also wanted her to stick around. She wanted to find her in the kitchen in the morning, sitting smiling in her sweaty workout clothes with a cat on her lap, talking to her in that quirky accent of hers.

The realization startled Chloe and she pulled back rather suddenly. She felt her cheeks go warm again and quickly turned around so Nadine wouldn’t see.

“Now then,” she said, trying to sound normal. “Let’s get a closer look at that buffet, shall we?”

Nadine was soon introduced to everyone who passed them by, uncles, aunts, cousins, neighbours, friends, and any worry Chloe might have had of Nadine being out of her element, overwhelmed by the garrulous Frazer clan, turned out to have been unwarranted. Nadine was deep in conversation with Uncle Mike one moment, the next she was making Chloe’s Aunt Ruth laugh so hard she almost spilled her drink.

Chloe caught up with her relatives, joked and laughed, enjoyed the buffet and felt genuinely happy. Every time she caught a glimpse of Nadine across the room, she felt a fondness that filled her with warmth. It all made sense to her now – how close she had felt to her during their adventure, the loss she had felt when Nadine had stormed off after feeling betrayed. The butterflies she had felt when Nadine had got into the car to chase after Asav, when she had said without saying it, “We’ll do this together.” And here she was, charming Chloe’s family.

When several hours had passed and the buffet had been decimated, Chloe looked for Nadine again and found her outside, playing with two little kids and a dog. The children belonged to another one of her cousins; she didn’t know the dog. Chloe went out and sat down on the porch with her bottle of cider. It was warm and both Chloe and Nadine had long since stripped off their woolly jumpers. Nadine wore a tight black t-shirt and Chloe watched her muscles flex as she went from one child to the other and lifted them up of the ground only to gently place them back on the floor again.

When Nadine spotted Chloe on the porch, she picked up a yellow tennis ball off the ground and threw it for the dog to catch before coming over and sitting down next to her. “Hey, Frazer,” she said, then corrected herself: “Chloe.”

“I see you’re having all the fun out here,” Chloe said. She offered her bottle of cider to Nadine, but Nadine shook her head, so she took a sip herself.

“Ja,” Nadine said, “we’re working off some of the food.”

“Whose dog is that?”

Nadine leaned back on her elbows. “A neighbour’s,” she said. “Harry, I think. Tall guy, red hair, beard.”

The tennis ball rolled across the lawn to Nadine’s feet and she leaned down to pick it up as the little girl yelled: “Throw it back, Auntie Nadine!”

Chloe raised an eyebrow as Nadine threw the ball over to her in a perfect arc. “I see you’ve made it to auntie already,” she said. “I’ve been around all their lives and I’m only their, what… cousin once removed?”

Nadine smiled and shrugged. “Well, if you play your cards right and give them a few piggybacks, you might still make it to auntie one day.”

“Mmh, too much effort.”

Nadine smiled at her, then turned serious for a moment. “Your family is great,” she said. “Honestly, thanks for letting me stay with you.”

“Anytime, love.”

Chloe would have liked Nadine for herself for a bit, but it didn’t take long for the children to reclaim their new favourite auntie, so Chloe went back in and rejoined the party.

By the time Chloe, Liz, Nadine and a box of lamington crumbs returned from the party, it was late and everyone was tired. They had a cup of tea in the sitting room, then turned in for the night.

“Bathroom’s free,” Nadine said, appearing at Chloe’s door, then turning to leave.

“Ah, hey,” Chloe said, putting down the tusk replica she’d been admiring and crossing the room to the door.

Nadine stopped and looked at her. “What’s up?”

Chloe came to stand in front of her. Nadine smelled of toothpaste again, and of soap, but not a soap Chloe recognized as her mother’s. She had an impulse to say something to Nadine, about the kiss, about her jumbled feelings, but she found herself momentarily lost for words. She realized that she didn’t actually know what to say or how Nadine would take it. It didn’t usually matter to Chloe Frazer how people took what she said. She said what she thought, or what she thought would get her what she wanted, and to hell with the consequences. But this time, something held her back.

Nadine looked at her questioningly with her light brown eyes.

“Nothing,” Chloe finally answered, “I just—“

“Chloe, dear, can you take the bins out before bed?”

Chloe rolled her eyes at her mother’s timing. “Yes, Mum,” she said loudly, then smiled apologetically at Nadine. Nadine smiled back.

“You seemed to have a good time today,” Chloe said eventually. “I’m glad.”

“Ja, it was nice.” They looked at each other for a moment. “Night, then, Chloe,” Nadine said and trotted off to her room.

Chloe took the bins out as requested. There was a big branch of eucalyptus on the compost heap and Chloe looked at the green leaves and thought of the mistletoe and her lips pressed against Nadine’s. She shook her head. _What’s going on, Chloe?_

Another lazy morning passed in the Frazer household. Lazy for some, at least – Nadine went for her morning run and was already showered and dressed again by the time Chloe got up. They shared the morning paper over breakfast, and Chloe noticed Nadine staring at an ad on the back page. It was for Featherdale Wildlife Park. “We should go.” Chloe said, pointing at the ad with a half-eaten piece of toast. “It’s only half an hour away. I’ll drive.”

They set off under the midday sun. The Australian summer had got noticeably warmer, and Chloe had put on jeans and a loose cotton blouse from her old wardrobe and a broad-brimmed hat. Nadine wore her usual slacks, paired with a loose tank top which Chloe had to deliberately not look at.

They ambled through the park and Nadine seemed happy and relaxed as they passed the cassowaries and the crocodiles, but her face really lit up when they got to the wallabies and she was allowed to pet one. There was something impossibly endearing about the hardened mercenary’s unabashed love for small furry animals and Chloe couldn’t help but smile every time Nadine smiled.

They stayed until closing time, then went for giant ice cream sundaes. As Chloe drove them back, Nadine’s phone was buzzing. She checked her messages while Chloe continued talking at her, about a job she had done in Munich in October, and how the famous Oktoberfest was actually in September, “can you believe it?”

“Mh?” Nadine said.

Chloe happily kept going as she pulled into the driveway of her mother’s house. Only when she had parked and finished her story did she notice the gloomy expression on Nadine’s face.

“Everything alright, love?” She cut off the engine.

“Ja,” Nadine said, brushing her off with a swipe of her hand.

“Yeah?” Chloe tilted her head at her. It wasn’t going to be easy to get Nadine to open up about her feelings, that much was obvious. It was an instinct Chloe knew well. She was still going to try, though. “Your dad again?”

“Ja.” Nadine said it almost like a sigh. She unbuckled her seatbelt and put her hand on the door, ready to get out when Chloe reached over to put a hand on her arm.

“No offence to your old man, but whatever grief he’s giving you, you shouldn’t take it to heart.”

Nadine shifted uncomfortably. “Easier said than done,” she finally said. “Been seeking his approval my whole life. I mucked that up pretty thoroughly.”

This might have been a good moment to say something profound about the inanity of seeking the approval of others and so on, but it passed and Nadine moved on. “Must be nice to have a mother like yours.”

Chloe frowned. “Well, we’ve certainly had our differences.” She felt a little pang of regret thinking about it. A grieving widow, a fatherless child, neither of them with any idea of how to talk about it. Chloe had dealt with it by running away as soon as she could to seek adventure and danger. Her fierce independence had hurt her mother, she knew that. But time had healed those wounds, and now they got along fine. “I didn’t make it easy for her.”

“Maybe not, but she adores you now. And why wouldn’t she?”

“Wait,” Chloe said, “Was that a…compliment? From you?”

“What?” Nadine said defensively. “I just meant that…I mean, for your mum to--”

Chloe laughed. “You’re adorable when you’re flustered.”

“Ja, you seem to have that effect on me.” Nadine said and got out of the car.

“Hey, china,” Chloe said, getting out herself and talking to Nadine over the car’s roof. “Why don’t we go down to the pub for a bit? Chase that blues away.”

Nadine hesitated. “_Eish_. It’s been a long day…”

“Come on, love. We won’t be long, it’s just down the road. I’ll even spring for some chips if you like.”

Three and a half hours later, they were deep into the ciders, long past anything that was reasonable. They had gone from giggling to melancholy to now reminiscing about their past adventure.

“Remember that time you socked me in the jaw?” Chloe said, cider in hand, taking a swig.

“Not my proudest moment,” Nadine said while picking at the label on her Bulmer’s bottle. “I mean, you did have it coming, but…”

“Ah, you’re the worst. You’d be a terrible girlfriend. You’d probably break the expensive china if things didn’t go your way.” Chloe thought for a moment, then added: “That’s why I call you that. China.” She laughed.

Nadine frowned, either offended or pretending to be. “I’ve never had any complaints.”

“That’s because you’re only going out with psychopaths!” Chloe liked the way Nadine’s forehead crinkled delicately as she frowned, she noticed, although not as much as she liked her smile. She also just liked seeing her in general and wondered if she’d had enough cider yet to risk telling her as much.

“I’ve not only dated psychopaths,” Nadine protested.

“Yeah? Do tell.”

“Well,” Nadine said, still picking at the label on her bottle. “I used to go out with a Shoreline mercenary for a while. When my father ran it.”

“Oh yeah? Shoreline mercenary? Surely a very stable personality then.” She smiled. “And what was that like?”

Nadine took a long drink of cider before she spoke. “Very hush-hush, of course. My father would have disapproved of it. And she didn’t want anyone to know.”

“Ah,” Chloe said, raising an eyebrow at the pronoun. “Now we’re getting somewhere. Was it the Shoreline uniform? I bet _you_ looked pretty gorgeous in that uniform.”

“It was _not _the uniform,” Nadine protested again, but then added almost proudly: “But ja, I looked pretty good. Ironed that thing every day.”

“Mm-hm.” Chloe tried to imagine it. Pictures probably existed. She was going to have to get her hands on those. Now her curiosity was piqued: “Was she your first girlfriend then?”

Nadine turned melancholy again. “No. I liked her best, though. But then she broke up with me,” she said, staring at her bottle grimly as though it were to blame. “Like they all do.”

“Now, now,” Chloe said, leaning against Nadine’s shoulder. “Their loss, right?”

“Tell you what,” Nadine said, “I’m over dating straight girls.” And with that, she downed the rest of her cider.

Chloe took a swig from her own bottle, not taking her eyes off Nadine. She liked her eyes, her nose, her lips. She was curious about the impressive scar on her neck. And her muscles? Well, they were just the cherry on top.

“What about you, Frazer?” Nadine asked after a little while, jerking her chin at her. “Wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if you’d charmed some ladies in your life.”

“Me,” Chloe said, “I’m what you’d call trisexual. I’ll try anything once.”

Nadine chuckled. “Good one. So you’ve dated a woman once?”

“Or twice. Although I wouldn’t call it dating.”

“Ja?” Nadine was staring at her now, possibly intrigued.

“One time I went out and got very drunk. There was a lot of dancing and a lot of groping and one thing led to another. I’m still a bit fuzzy on the details, to be honest.”

“Mmh,” Nadine said, frowning, looking at her bottle.

“The other time I was bored out of my mind at a 24-hour layover in Seoul when an opportunity presented itself.” Chloe thought about that for a moment. It had been a good use of her time then, years ago, but she doubted she could pick the lady out of a line-up now. “But it was really just a one-time thing, both times. Scratching an itch, so to speak.”

“Right,” Nadine said. “So only dating guys then?”

Chloe nodded and finished her cider. “Yes. So far.” Chloe raised her empty bottle and addressed the guy behind the bar who was standing at some distance.’Scuse me, mate, can we get two more ciders over here please?”

He shook his head and informed them that he was about to close up. Chloe looked around and noticed almost everyone else had already left. It was only half past eleven. Her mum lived in a pretty small town.

Chloe paid and they walked home giggling and slowly sobering up a bit. Chloe clung to Nadine’s arm and Nadine let her. She had a plan now, an idea of how she wanted the rest of this evening to go. She felt the heat radiating off Nadine and resisted the urge to nestle her head against her neck. It required no small amount of self-control.

“So,” Chloe said huskily, “is there anything else you want to do before you leave Australia?”

“See a platypus,” Nadine said without a moment’s hesitation.

Chloe laughed. “Right,” she said. “A platypus, huh.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Of all the options available to you, that’s what you pick?”

Nadine looked at Chloe with some confusion for a moment. “It’s a mammal, but it lays eggs,” she said matter-of-factly, as if that were explanation enough. They kept walking down the road, their steps matching.

“I mean, we could definitely have some fun together…” Chloe eventually said, tightening her grip around Nadine’s arm slightly. She was off her game. This was terrible.

“Ja, but you’ve already seen a platypus,” Nadine said, either oblivious to Chloe’s attempt to flirt with her, or, worse, impervious to it.

“That’s true,” Chloe conceded and decided to let it go for now. She was not going to be the one to stand between Nadine and a platypus.

They kept walking in silence for a while. The night air was cool and not a soul was out. Chloe laced her fingers into Nadine’s. Again, Nadine let her. Not much later, they made it back to the house.

“Bathroom’s free,” Nadine said again, as was becoming her custom now, and once again Chloe stopped her.

“Nadine,” she said. “Hold on a second.”

“Ja?”

“So, uh… Look,” Chloe said, pointing up at two sprigs of foliage she had taped to her doorframe with an abundance of sticky tape.

Nadine looked up and tilted her head. “Is that...eucalyptus?”

“Yes, well,” Chloe said, feigning cool. “I like to call it the poor man’s mistletoe.”

Realization spread over Nadine’s face. “Ah,” she said.

“So, uh…”

Nadine lowered her voice. “What about your mother?” she asked.

“My mum’s in bed.”

Nadine seemed hesitant and Chloe felt a nervous sweat prickle her armpits. She took a step forward and put her hands on Nadine’s hips slowly, as if sudden movements might scare her off.

“So, uh,” she said again. Her heart was beating fast.

Nadine looked into her eyes with an expression Chloe couldn’t read. Finally, she said quietly: “Are we really doing this?”

“I want to,” Chloe said.

Nadine touched her hand to Chloe’s cheek briefly, then leaned forwards and kissed her gently. Chloe tasted toothpaste and a hint of alcohol. She marvelled at the feeling of Nadine’s lips, full and soft and warm.

The kiss ended and they drew apart, eyes locked.

“I’ve wanted to do that for a while,” Nadine finally said, her voice still lowered.

“Yeah? Well, you don’t let on, do you?”

Nadine gave a small laugh and looked down. “And here I thought I was an open book.”

Chloe leaned in again, tilting her head to catch Nadine’s eye and then her lips for another kiss. This time it was more eager than gentle. Filled with need. Chloe pulled Nadine’s hips close so that their fronts touched. She slipped her tongue past Nadine’s lips and felt her body tingle, her desire flare up.

At that, Nadine pulled back, somewhat breathless, and looked down the hallway nervously.

“Wait here,” Chloe said, tugging Nadine into her room by her wrists. She walked two doors down to Nadine’s room and closed the door, then retraced her steps to her own room, closing that door as well. She turned off the main light, stepped up to Nadine, wrapped her arms around her neck and drew her into another kiss, passionate now and full of longing. This time Nadine didn’t resist and Chloe kissed her hard, tongue exploring and teeth nipping at the soft underside of her lip.

The kiss went on for several breathless minutes. Chloe never wanted it to end. She had uncovered in herself a deep need for Nadine, a need that had been building up for months and wouldn’t be sated easily. The kiss underneath the mistletoe had no doubt been a catalyst, but looking back with the clarity of hindsight, Chloe found that she had wanted Nadine ever since that first day in the Western Ghats of India. Well, maybe the second day. Nadine had been a bit stubborn and annoying on the first day.

When the kiss ended at last, Chloe pushed Nadine towards the bed, then, in one smooth movement, pulled her blouse over her head, exposing a black bra underneath.

“_Eish_,” Nadine breathed, “you don’t waste any time.”

“Time is money, love,” Chloe said, pulling Nadine into another sensual kiss. She was getting love-drunk on the scent of Nadine, that mix of toothpaste, the scent of her hair, soap and warm skin. She could feel the heat of Nadine’s face against her own. Her hands were surprisingly soft against Chloe’s bare shoulders.

Chloe traced Nadine’s trim figure with her fingers, then slipped them under her t-shirt, touching her muscled abdomen. She lay her palms flat, then slowly moved them upwards.

Nadine grabbed Chloe’s arms and gently pulled her hands back down. “Slow down,” she said quietly between kisses.

“Why?” Chloe asked, genuinely puzzled. She moved her hands up Nadine’s bare back under her t-shirt instead, feeling her warm, damp skin. Nadine was in her pyjamas and not wearing anything under the t-shirt. It was enough to drive Chloe crazy.

“Because we don’t have to do everything at once.”

Chloe pulled back with a perplexed look and Nadine stroked her hair. After a moment, tracing a finger down Nadine’s scar, Chloe said: “But it will be fun.”

Nadine tilted her head. “Chloe,” she said with a hint of reproach. “It will still be fun later.” She sat down on the bed and pulled Chloe down towards her for another kiss. Nadine’s lips were soft and every time they brushed against Chloe’s, they made her stomach flutter.

They got under the sheets together and lay face to face, Chloe allowing her hands and lips to wander cautiously, working out through trial and error where Nadine was drawing the line. They kissed for a long time until eventually one of them yawned, and then the other one did, and then they both laughed. Then Nadine nestled her head against Chloe’s shoulder and they fell asleep together.

When Chloe woke up the next morning, she noticed two things: her head was aching from the previous night’s indulgences and Nadine was gone. She had a vague memory of her creeping out of the room at the crack of dawn, mumbling something about a morning run. Chloe sat up with a faint smile-turned-wince. Her pillow still carried the faint smell of Nadine’s hair.

She pulled some clothes on and, still holding her sore head , stumbled to the kitchen where her mother and Nadine were sitting at the table, their breakfast finished, cups still steaming.

“Coffeeeee,” Chloe said as she reached for the coffee machine.

“Good morning, Chloe,” said her mother .

“Morning, Mum. Morning, gorgeous,” she said to Nadine as she roundedthe table to plop down beside her.

Nadine returned a bashful smile.

“Well, that’s very interesting,” Chloe’s mother said, ending a conversation Chloe had missed. “Anyway, I should get started on these dishes and—“

“Let me help you with that,” Nadine interrupted, but Chloe’s mother put out a hand on Nadine’s shoulder to stop her.

“No, no, I’ll do it.” She stacked Nadine’s plate and knife on her own and carried them over to the counter.

Nadine finished her tea and got up. “Guess I’d better have a shower then,” she said and walked out.

Chloe idly checked her phone while sipping her coffee. After a while, they heard water rushing through the pipes as Nadine showered.

“Chloe,” her mother said pensively, “an odd thing happened this morning.”

“Mm-hm?”, said Chloe distractedly.

“I got up in the night and heard meowing from Nadine’s room...”

Chloe realized she must have locked Marmite in by accident the night before.

“Oh?”

“So I knocked and opened the door and out came Marmite, but-”, her voice dropped to a half-whisper, “Nadine wasn’t there!”

“Huh.”

Her mother’s brow was furrowed. “You don’t think she gets up at 3:00 am to run, do you? Surely not.”

“No, Mum,” Chloe said. “She was in my room.”

“Ah.” The confusion was visible in her mother’s face. “Why?”

“Because I invited her.” Chloe was trying to sound as casual as possible. She liked the idea of her mother knowing about it, but she really, _really_ did not want to have to spell it out.

“Oh.” A pause. “_Ohhhh_. So _that’s_ why she doesn’t have a boyfriend! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It literally just happened, Mum. It’s all very new. Please don’t make a big deal about it.”

Liz stood still for a moment, then walked over to Chloe’s chair and squeezed her shoulders. “She’s a lovely girl,” she said and left.

Not long after, there was a knock on the door. Chloe’s uncle dropped by, along with Chloe’s cousin and her children who were both happy to play with their favourite auntie – Nadine. They whiled away the morning together and after a simple lunch of spaghetti with tomato sauce out of a tin, Chloe’s uncle suggested Chloe and Nadine head out to Stuart Rock, “the best hike in the area.” Chloe was ultimately lazy, but liked the idea of having Nadine to herself for a while, so they set off mid-afternoon.

The paths were busy at the beginning, but as their hike went on and went deeper into the forest, people became scarcer as well. The forest sheltered them from the afternoon heat and Chloe recounted the supposed history of the rock they were about to see.

“Now, people here call it Stuart Rock and the story goes that he stopped here on one of his explorations. That would of course be John Stuart, Scottish explorer in the 19th century.”

The path was narrow now and they had to keep holding back branches to get past. It wasn’t an official path, really, but it was a place known to Chloe and her extended family.

“Is he the guy Stuart Highway is named after?” Nadine asked. “The one that goes through the middle?”

“Adelaide to Darwin, yes,” Chloe confirmed, jumping over a tree root. “Which is exactly why I think they must have it wrong. Adelaide is over 1,000 kilometres from here and I’ve not found any reference that Stuart ever even made it to the East coast.”

“Huh. Curious,” Nadine said.

“But you know who has been to Sydney?” It was a rhetorical question and Chloe quickly answered it herself: “Charles Sturt. Another explorer.”

They were climbing a steep hillside now. “So they have the wrong guy?”

“Exactly,” Chloe said, huffing, making it to the top of the hill. “That’s why I present to you: Sturt Rock.” She pointed at a big rock visible from the top of the hill they had just climbed.

It wasn’t far to get there now and the ascent to the top of the rock itself was a climb Chloe was very familiar with. It wasn’t particularly hard to begin with, but she had long memorized which nooks and crannies to use in which order, so it presented even less of a challenge. When she reached the top, she reached out her hand to Nadine and helped her up the last bit – unnecessarily, no doubt.

They stood, slightly panting, on top of the rock looking out over a beautiful landscape of treetops and of mountains in the distance. The sun was about to set. Chloe sat down and Nadine sat down next to her, taking it all in.

“It’s beautiful,” Nadine said.

“Worth the climb?”

“Definitely.”

It was a perfect moment, Chloe thought, turned to Nadine and leaned forward to kiss her. Their lips met and soon she felt Nadine’s hands on her shoulders, then on her arms, pushing her away.

“Chloe,” she said quietly, looking down.

“What?” Chloe asked, looking around. “There’s no one here.”

“It’s not that,” Nadine said, still not meeting her eye. “I just think that...” She hesitated. “Maybe we should just be friends.”

Chloe laughed before she realized Nadine was serious. Then her heart sank. “I’m sorry?”

“I think maybe it’d be better if we didn’t get involved.”

Chloe looked out over the scenery now, without taking it in. Somewhere something had gone terribly wrong.

“Alright,” she said. “I mean, that’s not the feeling I got from you last night, but...”

“I was a bit drunk last night,” Nadine said. The words cut deep.

This was not the memory Chloe wanted to make at Sturt Rock. But when did things ever go according to plan? She went over the day in her head to try to find any hint as to why Nadine had changed her mind. She couldn’t think of anything.

After a long silence, Nadine finally asked: “Are we still friends, Chloe?”

“Yes, of course,” Chloe said, hoping she actually meant it. “Water under the bridge.”

“We should probably head back,” Nadine said. “Took us ages to get here.”

“It’s fine,” Chloe said, getting up anyway. “We just did a big loop. The car’s 10 minutes due East, through the brush.”

They climbed off the rock again and headed back to the car, making polite conversation on the way back to the house. Chloe tried not to let the rejection get to her, but things had soured and she didn’t know how to get over it.

Back at the house, they had a light dinner and watched some TV, using Chloe’s mum as a proxy for a normal conversation. Chloe felt slightly relieved when it was time to go to bed.

As always, Nadine eventually appeared at her door in her pyjamas to tell her that the bathroom was free. She lingered for a moment, then came in and closed the door behind her.

“Chloe...” she said, awkwardly.

Chloe was lying on her bed with a book, but put it down and sat up. “Hey...” she said.

Nadine walked over and after a moment’s consideration, sat down next to Chloe. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I stuffed that up pretty badly, didn’t I?”

“Oh, you know,” Chloe said. The sensations of the night before were still fresh in her memory and she felt a sense of loss for what might have been. “It’s certainly your prerogative to change your mind. I’m simply puzzled by how quickly you did.”

“I’m sorry,” Nadine said again. “Every straight girl I’ve been with has broken my heart. I can’t go through this again. Not with you.”

Chloe shook her head, trying to suppress the anger she was feeling. “What does that even mean?” she asked. “How many women do I need to be with to fulfil your criteria? Every relationship I’ve ever been in has failed, too. That’s what it’s always like, until it isn’t.”

Nadine still looked at her apologetically and Chloe got up off the bed. “I don’t know why I’m trying to convince you,” she then said. “You’ve made your mind up and we really don’t need to talk about it.” She walked to the door and opened it. “It’s fine,” she said. “Let’s just pretend this never happened.”

Nadine got up and left through the door. “Goodnight, Chloe.”

After a restless night, Chloe got up and only found her mother in the kitchen.

“Good morning, darling,” her mother said cheerfully. “Have some coffee. Is Nadine not with you?”

“No, Mum.” Chloe poured some coffee and put a slice of bread in the toaster.

“Ah. Well, I haven’t seen her all morning. I thought maybe she was with you.”

“No, Mum,” Chloe said again, now more irritably.

“Alright, alright. Blimey, bite my head off...”

Chloe was having her piece of toast when the door opened and a sweaty Nadine came in.

“Morning,” she said and stood hesitantly for a moment before Liz told her to sit down and served her some coffee.

“We were wondering where you were,” she said. “Here, I’ll toast you some bread. Two slices? Would you like a banana with that?”

“Yes, please. Thank you, Liz.” She put her phone down. “I just did a longer run this morning.”

“Let’s hear it, then. How far?”

Chloe liked the way her mother was fretting over Nadine, admiring her athletic achievements, making sure she had all the coffee and toast she wanted. Part of it was being a good host, of course, but there was also a genuine fondness, an appreciation for her company. Chloe could always tell when her mother was nice because she had to be, as opposed to because she wanted to be. They’d spent a lot of time together having breakfast and cooking, and Chloe felt a pang of sadness at the realization that the two of them wouldn’t do that anymore if this thing wasn’t working out. And she couldn’t see how it would work out now.

Nadine swiped around on her phone before she answered the question about her run: “11.2k”

“Oooh,” Liz said admiringly. “That’s a long way to run,” she laughed.

“Ja. Helps clear my head.” She gave Chloe a look and Chloe attempted a smile before she decided to leave and took her coffee upstairs.

Her mother summoned her later to send her to buy some groceries. Nadine offered to help out.

“It’s fine, I don’t need any help,” Chloe said.

“Sure?” Nadine looked slightly hurt.

Liz tilted her head. “Don’t you always complain about having to lug my bottled water through to the shed? I bet Nadine would be happy to do it.”

“I mean, sure,” Chloe shrugged. “If you really want to.”

Nadine looked at her with palpable disappointment before she, too, shrugged. “Alright. Drive safe.”

Chloe cursed at herself in the car. That had been entirely unnecessary. _Get over it_, she told herself. _No point ruining the whole thing._

The supermarket was crowded and loud and Chloe had a headache by the time she got back. Once the groceries were safely stowed away in cupboards, she lay down on the sofa in the living room for a nap while Nadine and Liz set to baking bread together. Liz had told Nadine how easy it was to make your own bread, and Nadine had been intrigued.

Chloe dozed for a while until she overheard her mother and Nadine talking in the kitchen.

“Is everything alright, love?” Liz was saying. “You seem a little down today.”

Chloe didn’t hear Nadine replying. Instead she heard her mum again: “You don’t have to tell me. But if you want to talk...”

There was a long pause. “Just had a bit of a falling out with my dad,” she said, then added: “And I guess with Chloe, too.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Liz said. Another long moment passed. “Well, I don’t know about your dad, but I’m sure whatever you quarrelled about with Chloe will be over sooner rather than later.”

“Hope you’re right,” Nadine said.

“I am. You know, ever since she got here at the beginning of the month, you’ve practically been all she’s talked about. Nadine this, Nadine that. She’s really closed off usually, never tells me anything, but I got to hear your name so often, I almost got a bit jealous.”

Chloe rolled her eyes all the way over on the couch.

“Oh, um. Sorry.”

“Don’t be silly, Nadine. I’m just saying she’s awfully fond of you. I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me when she told me you two were...” She trailed off, didn’t finish the sentence. “Well, I think you two will kiss and make up in no time. So chin up.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Nadine said.

Towards evening, Chloe’s cousin came by with her kids, this time to return an oven dish they had borrowed the day before. The kids climbed all over Nadine and begged her to go outside with them to play ball in the backyard, so she did. She was agreeable like that with them, and Chloe wondered what her Shoreline pals would think if they could see her now. Chloe sat down in the shade of a tree and watched them play.

Nadine was wearing a tight t-shirt that showed off her muscles when she picked up a kid or threw a ball. Her hair was in a ponytail, bouncing around with every step. Sweat was glistening on her forehead in the afternoon heat.

Chloe thought of the night when they had kissed, and how it had made her feel. She felt a tingling in the pit of her stomach thinking about it now. Was Nadine right? Was she going to be another straight girl who was going to break her heart? It was one thing to make out with a woman, but a completely different thing altogether to make a life with one. What kind of life could they possibly have together?

She hadn’t really considered settling down anytime soon. The last few months spent in London were the longest she’d been in one place in a long time. She lived for adventure, for the adrenaline of breaking and entering, of escaping dangerous situations by the skin of her teeth. It was not a lifestyle for the faint of heart. If anyone could match that, it was Nadine. Sure, maybe Nathan Drake, too, but he was married. Maybe Sam Drake, too, but he was a bit too rugged even for Chloe. 

Chloe thought back to the mistletoe and realized she still felt now what she had felt then. She wanted Nadine in her bed, but she also wanted her at the breakfast table the next morning, and if Nadine’s big wish was to see a platypus, she wanted to be the one to take her to see one. She decided, then, that it was an injustice to be considered a straight girl when she had feelings like those for Nadine.

The ball rolled to Chloe’s feet and her cousin poked her head out the back door to collect her offspring. “Let’s go, let’s go,” she yelled, clapping her hands, and her children followed suit after hugging Nadine goodbye. The cousin waved and left the two of them behind in the backyard.

Nadine raised her arm above her head to shield her eyes from the sun and looked over at Chloe. Chloe picked up the ball and threw it at her and Nadine caught it effortlessly.

“Why don’t you play ball with someone your own size?” Chloe asked, getting up to meet her in the middle of the lawn – a lawn turned brown by the summer sun.

“Bring it on, Frazer,” Nadine said, throwing the ball back and flexing her muscles.

Chloe pointed at the two tree branches on the ground that had been used as goalposts with her cousin’s kids. “First one to get three points wins,” she said.

Nadine cracked her knuckles menacingly. It was on.

Chloe came to stand next to her, then threw the ball as high as she could into the air. They both ran to where it was coming down and jumped for it. Nadine got hold of it and, with a perfect throw, landed it between the goal posts.

“One point for me,” she said.

Chloe scoffed and went to retrieve the ball. “Just giving you a head start.”

They repeated the procedure once more, only this time it was Nadine throwing the ball in the air. Chloe almost reached it, but it bounced off the ground and landed directly in Nadine’s arms and again was thrown hard into the goal.

“Two,” Nadine said, with a smug grin. This time she went to retrieve it, while Chloe looked on, frowning.

Nadine got into position and threw the ball up a third time. When they were about to jump for it, Chloe gave her a hard shove that made her stumble, then caught the ball herself and threw it at the goalposts with great force. It bounced and hit its mark.

“And one for me,” she said, pleased.

Nadine was visibly annoyed. “How is that fair? You fouled me.”

“That’s Aussie rules, love.” Chloe had no intention of letting Nadine win.

She picked up the ball again and once more they got into position. Nadine was crowding her now. Chloe threw the ball as high as she could, then reached it with her fingertips – just enough to make it bounce away towards the house. She ran after it and picked it up, aiming for the goal, when Nadine tackled her and they both tumbled to the ground. Chloe still had the ball under her left arm, but struggled with Nadine on top of her.

“Would you let go!” Chloe said, struggling and wiggling under Nadine’s weight.

“Sorry, Aussie rules,” Nadine mocked.

“Yeah, that’s not even allowed in Aussie rules football, you might want to read up on that.” Chloe stopped struggling and looked at Nadine hovering above her, her brown eyes looking down at her.

“Chloe,” Nadine said softly. “I was an idiot and I’m sorry.” Then she leaned down and kissed her.

Chloe let go of the ball and put her hands on Nadine’s arms. Nadine tasted of iced tea and smelled of sweat and Chloe bit her lower lip softly and traced her tongue along it. Nadine raised her head up again, looking down, and smiled and Chloe’s stomach lurched. She ran her hands along Nadine’s arms.

“Does that mean I’m gay enough for you, after all?” Chloe teased.

Nadine blushed. “Did you hear the part where I said that I was an idiot and I’m sorry?”

“No,” Chloe said. “Tell me again?”

“Your mother says you’re awfully fond of me,” Nadine said.

Chloe pulled her close and kissed her again in the afternoon sun in her mother’s backyard, grass tickling her neck.

When Nadine raised her head again, she smiled, then reached for the ball and effortlessly threw it towards the goal posts. Chloe pulled her head back and saw it lazily roll in.

“Oh, and I win,” Nadine said, smiling smugly. She got up and held her hand out to Chloe, pulled her up from the ground.

“I don’t know, love,” Chloe said, wiping grass off her trousers. “I’d say we both win.”

A few hours later, they continued where they had left off. Except this time, all the meticulously laid out boundaries from the other night were gone. Chloe relished every kiss as though it were their last. They made love in Chloe’s childhood bed, backlit by the moon. Chloe felt it was quite magical.

Basking in the afterglow, she propped her head on her hand, elbow digging into the mattress, seizing Nadine up. The room smelled of musk and sweat and the sweet scent of their lovemaking.

“So,” she said, brushing the back of her hand against one of Nadine’s nipples, “are you going to call this off again in the morning? I’m just trying to decide if we should go again.”

“We definitely should go again,” Nadine said, and Chloe frowned. Then she added softly: “But I won’t call it off again.”

Chloe moved her hand down to the curls between Nadine’s legs and stroked them lightly. “Hmm, can I trust you,” she said, more like a statement than a question. She felt Nadine’s hand on her back, moving down her side, coming to rest on her buttocks.

“Damage control,” Nadine eventually said.

“Sorry?”

“That’s what it was. An attempt to call it off before you did.”

Chloe narrowed her eyes at Nadine. “You realize that’s crazy, yes?”

Nadine shrugged. “It’s because of what you said in that pub. How with women, it’s a one-time thing to scratch an itch. That you wouldn’t have a relationship with a woman.”

“I don’t think that’s what I said.”

“Well, it’s what I heard.” Nadine shrugged again and Chloe put a hand on her shoulder, stroked it lightly, then leaned over and gave Nadine a kiss on her scar.

“Prick your ears then, love,” Chloe said. “Because if there’s a woman I see myself in a relationship with, it’s you.” They looked at each other seriously before both breaking into a smile.

“I don’t know, Chloe,” Nadine eventually said, “That’s terribly non-committal. I think we’d best go again, just to be safe.”

“Absolutely,” Chloe grinned, “safety first.” And with that she drew Nadine into another long, passionate kiss.

_Epilogue_

The next morning, when Liz came to put the coffee on, no one was up. Nadine’s door was open, her room empty. The front door was still locked, which meant she hadn’t gone running either. Liz smiled to herself. It was New Year’s Eve tomorrow and that meant her Chloe would be leaving soon. But for the first time ever, she did not worry about her daughter being out there alone in the world.

  
THE END

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. I always appreciate kudos and comments.


End file.
